In announcing the new Congress chief, the Congress party has reverted to its tried and tested formula of balancing certain caste equations in Telangana. After almost a decade, a leader from the Backward Class (BC) will be steering the party.
Over the last three decades, the Congress party has typically handed over the reins of the party to Reddy or BC leaders while in opposition. When in power, Reddys were preferred for the chief minister's post, while BC leaders took over the party. Traditionally, the influential upper caste Reddys have been the backbone of the Congress party leadership, with Dalits forming a loyal vote bank in the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh.
After the birth of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which immediately swept to power by attracting BCs as a block, the Congress set its sights on this community. Between 1989 and 1994, V. Hanumanth Rao and Majji Tulasi Das, both from BC community, were party presidents when the party was ruling the state with Reddy Chief Ministers Marri Chenna Reddy, N. Janardhan Reddy, and Kotla Vijaya Bhaskar Reddy. Between 2004 and 2014, when the Congress was in power for two terms under Reddy Chief Ministers, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy and Kiran Kumar Reddy, there were three state presidents from the BC community - D. Srinivas, Keshav Rao, and Botsa Satyanarayana.
From 2015 to 2023, while Bharat Rashtra Samiti ruled the newly bifurcated state, Reddy leaders Uttam Kumar Reddy and A. Revanth Reddy held fort as party presidents. After the 2023 assembly elections which saw the Congress party's victory, Revanth was elevated to Chief Minister, and his close associate, BC leader Mahesh Kumar Goud, was picked to lead the party.
Goud has been an active member of the party since his student days and played a pivotal role during the recent assembly elections, working closely with then AICC state in-charge Manikrao Thakare. He is also known for maintaining a good rapport with different factions of the party, especially the seniors. His immediate challenge is to carefully select a team that will represent different groups and leaders within the party without leaving any room for discontentment. What also worked in Goud's favour is his loyalty to the party, even during adversities.
Though there were SC leaders in the fray, the Congress still went ahead with a BC candidate, also keeping in mind the BJP’s strategy. The saffron party, which has won the highest number of parliament seats in the Telangana region, has been eyeing the BC vote bank. It placed significant importance on Bandi Sanjay Kumar, its last president, under whose leadership the BJP generated a lot of momentum, by winning byelections and scoring impressive victories in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal elections.
The BJP is also expected to name a new president, as the current one, Kishan Reddy, is busy in his role as Union Minister of Coal and Mines. Among the frontrunners for the BJP president’s post is Eatala Rajender, another powerful BC leader and MP, who had migrated from BRS.
